Oct. 26, 2007
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Oct. 26, 2007 < 7:00="" p.m.="">
No. 13 Penn State (12-3-1, 6-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 4 Purdue (14-1-2, 6-0-1 Big Ten)
University Park, Pa. < jeffrey="">
Oct. 28, 2007 < 1:00="" p.m.="">
No. 13 Penn State (12-3-1, 6-1 Big Ten*) vs. Indiana (12-2-2, 5-1-1 Big Ten*)
University Park, Pa. < jeffrey="">
*Records do not take into account Friday's Big Ten matches.
NO. 4 PURDUE, INDIANA COME TO HAPPY VALLEY... In the No. 13 Nittany Lions' last Big Ten home weekend this year, Penn State hosts two pivotal contests with conference-leader Purdue and current No. 3 team in the league, Indiana. On Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., fourth-ranked Purdue becomes the first Top 25 team to square-off with the No. 13 Nittany Lions since they met then-No. 21 Notre Dame on Sept. 23. Sunday, Penn State takes on Indiana in a live contest on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. to round out their home conference slate. Both games will be available via lives stats on Gametrack PSU and Friday's game vs. Purdue will be shown as a free live webcast on GoPSUsports.com.
THINK PINK... Friday night will be Think Pink Night at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will be raising funds for breast cancer research at the game, and the first 200 hundred fans will receive pink PSU women's soccer T-Shirts. So, arrive early and wear pink! Two hundred Penn State soccer backpacks will also be given out at each of the games this weekend.
SENIOR DAY... Penn State celebrates Senior Day Sunday vs. Indiana and will honor four Nittany Lions before the Indiana contest. Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.), Carly Bedesem (Holland, Pa.), Jean Rettig (Hummelstown, Pa.), and Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) have all won the Big Ten title each of their playing years, made the semifinals of the 2005 NCAA Women's College Cup and captured last year's Big Ten Tournament championship. With countless individual honors among them, the group will no doubt be missed. On behalf of the whole Penn State soccer family, good luck!
NEXT UP... One final conference game remains for the Nittany Lions, who travel to Columbus, Ohio to meet the Buckeyes on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Penn State then travels to St. Paul for the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Minnesota on Nov. 8-11.
SINCE YOU SAW THEM LAST... Penn State split a road series at Iowa and Minnesota last weekend, dropping its first conference game since a 3-2 loss at Illinois on Oct. 1, 2006. On the strength of the game-winning goal from Aubrey Aden-Buie, Penn State beat Iowa 1-0 last Friday before heading to Minneapolis where a free-kick goal in double overtime became the demise of the Nittany Lions.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PURDUE... The Nittany Lions will attempt to continue their winning ways over Purdue during this Friday's match-up. Penn State leads the all-time series 6-1-1. In their last meeting during the 2006 season, PSU defeated the Boilermakers in a 2-0 shutout on the road. The first meeting between the two teams occurred in 1999 when Penn State dominated Purdue in a 5-0 victory in West Lafayette.
SERIES HISTORY VS. INDIANA... Penn State looks for its 15th victory over the Hoosiers as the Nittany Lions own a 14-1-1 record in the series. When the two teams met last season, the game ended in a double-overtime scoreless tie in Bloomington. Penn State first played Indiana in 1994 with the Nittany Lions garnering a 2-1 victory at home.
PENN STATE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS... Posting a 2-2-1 record this season vs. ranked teams, Penn State is now 54-32-9 (.616) all-time vs. opponents ranked in the NSCAA poll heading into this weekend. A win over Illinois, who had been receiving votes at the time of the meeting, puts the Nittany Lions' record vs. teams ranked or receiving votes this year to 3-2-1.
THE NEW JEFFREY STREAK... Penn State has played historically well at Jeffrey Field, and the Nittany Lions' current unbeaten streak stands at 20-0-1 over their last 21 games on their home field. PSU has gone undefeated since a 2-1 loss to West Virginia on Sept. 8, 2006. The Nittany Lions' record for consecutive wins is 39 stretching from Sept. 17, 2001-Nov. 12, 2004. Penn State is 133-9-5 (.922) all-time at Jeffrey Field.
BIG TEN HOME UNBEATEN STREAK ON THE LINE... When Penn State meets No. 4 Purdue on Friday and Indiana on Sunday, it will once again put its Big Ten home unbeaten streak on the line. The Nittany Lions have not lost in their last 51 games, dating back to Oct. 1, 1995, when Minnesota beat PSU, 2-0. The Nittany Lions' last tie was on a scoreless draw on Sept. 19, 1999 vs. Michigan, leaving PSU perfect over its last 40 Big Ten home games.
SCHOEPFER'S SCORING STREAK ENDS AT 10 GAMES... After going scoreless on Penn State's Big Ten road swing last weekend, sophomore striker Katie Schoepfer's (Waterford, Conn.) scoring streak ended at 10-straight games. The streak began vs. James Madison on Sept. 14 and included all nine of her goals and three assists. Her previous personal record for consecutive games with at least one point each was five her freshman year.
PENN STATE PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN THE BIG TEN... The Nittany Lions have been picked by the coaches to finish at the top of the conference this year. A 2007 championship would mark PSU's 10th consecutive conference title. Its selection at the top of the poll marks the fifth-straight year that Penn State has been picked to win the Big Ten crown. The Nittany Lions' string of nine consecutive titles is tied for the second-longest championship streak in Big Ten history. The streak is also the longest active streak nationally.
NITTANY LIONS' BIG TEN STREAK NOTEWORTHY... By clinching the 2006 Big Ten title on Oct. 22, Penn State pushed its conference championship run to nine-straight. The streak is tied with Indiana women's tennis and Northwestern women's tennis for the second-longest in the 25 years of Big Ten women's championships.
RANKED TEAMS LITTER EARLY-SEASON SCHEDULE... The Big Ten opener vs. Illinois marked the sixth game in 10 outings vs. a team that is ranked or receving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Poll (NSCAA). A win vs. the Illini brought PSU to 3-2-1 vs. ranked opponents in 2007, including two road wins against Top 25 teams. The only two losses have also come on the road. The Nittany Lions robust early-season schedule helped them to the No. 1 spot in the first RPI rankings to come out this year. In the Oct. 22 RPI survey, PSU was No. 4.
WALSH'S WEEKLY PODCAST... Erica Walsh's podcast is in full swing and available weekly on GoPSUsports.com. For the remainder of the Nittany Lions' 2007 season, check back weekly each Monday to hear Walsh's impressions of the previous week's action as well as get a look into the next week. Fans can submit questions to be asked during the podcast by emailing them to askerica@athletics.psu.edu.
--NITTANY LIONS--